Warriors roll past Thunder

Share this:

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook (0) blocks a pass intended for Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) in the first quarter of their game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, March 3, 2016. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND — The Warriors tied the NBA record for consecutive home wins, then raised the possibility of reaching even higher ground.

Could they go 41-0 at Oracle Arena this season? That could happen after the Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 on Thursday to claim a 44th straight regular-season win at home (dating to last season) to match the Chicago Bulls from 1995-96.

“That’s a high level of consistency every single night to come out and take advantage of the opportunities you have in front of your home crowd, and we want to keep that going,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. “If we don’t lose another game at home the rest of the year, that means good things are going to happen.”

The Warriors swept the season series with the Thunder and improved their record to 55-5 and 26-0 at home.

Curry returned from a one-game absence to score 33 points and claimed a third win this season against Kevin Durant, who had 32 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists but also committed nine turnovers.

Once again, the Warriors had to come from behind to get the job done. This time, rather than Curry shooting the lights out, it was their bench that provided the spark.

Marreese Speights scored 10 points and hit Draymond Green with a football-like pass in stride for a dunk that cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 80-75. Speights followed that up with a jump shot. In the fourth, he hit his second 3-pointer to give the Warriors an 87-83 lead.

“A lot of guys ain’t win 55 games in three years combined,” Speights said. “It’s a blessing to be on this team with all these guys in this locker room and the coaching staff and these fans.”

With Shaun Livingston leading the way at point guard with 11 points, eight assists and three steals, the Warriors turned a one-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter into a six-point lead.

Leandro Barbosa scored on a layup in transition, and Andre Iguodala made it 93-85 after going coast-to-coast for the dunk off a steal. Iguodala played limited minutes after missing a game because of hamstring tightness.

Curry delivered the final blows, scoring on a 3-point play and hitting two 3-pointers in the fourth. After missing a game because of a sprained left ankle, he finished 5 for 15 from beyond the arc and reported being pain-free. Warriors coach Steve Kerr, however, did notice that Curry was a little winded from having missed time.

“His 3-point shot wasn’t as accurate as it normally is, but he hits the last two — the two most difficult ones he took all night,” Kerr said. “The confidence level is just remarkable.”

Curry hit a 33-footer to give the Warriors a 61-60 lead, and they went into halftime leading by two. The Warriors, just as they did five days earlier at Oklahoma City, would have to come from behind to earn the victory.

The Thunder opened up a nine-point lead in the third quarter when Durant hit a jump shot and Serge Ibaka followed with a 3-pointer.

Russell Westbrook scored 22 points, and Ibaka added 20. The Thunder won the battle of the boards 46-40 after outrebounding the Warriors 62-32 on Saturday.

Green, Iguodala and Livingston were among those taking on the defensive assignment against Durant, who was 11 for 17 from the field, but the Warriors prevailed and moved within a game of making more history.

“That means a lot because that’s something we talk about at the beginning of every year — protecting our home floor,” Green said. “If you want to be great, you’ve got to protect that.”

Curry was named Western Conference player of the month for February, averaging 36.7 points, 7.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds and shooting 53.6 percent from 3-point range.

Curry became the first player in franchise history to win two player of the month awards in the same season, as he had also been honored by the NBA for October/November.